A trailer has dropped for Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s latest, an animated film about a teenage girl’s sky-high aspirations.
Set in the old city of Lahore in the 1970s, “Sitara: Let Girls Dream” centers on Pari, a 14-year-old who dreams of working as a pilot, and spends her days making paper planes to launch into the sky and reading her book about Amelia Earhart.
“Sitara” charts Pari’s story through the eyes of her six-year-old sister, “who like the audience is unaware of the traditions and barriers that lay in the paths of women from this family,” the film’s official synopsis hints.
“Young girls everywhere still face considerable hurdles in achieving their dreams,” Obaid-Chinoy observes in her director’s statement. She emphasizes that the story is “about the burdens of family and the impact a patriarchal culture has on them. For me,” she says, “‘Sitara’ is more than a film, It is a movement that we want to start across the world, that encourages parents to invest in their girls’ dreams, encouraging them to free their girls from the burdens of early marriage.”
A two-time Oscar winner, Obaid-Chinoy was recognized for short docs “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness” and “Saving Face.” Her feature credits include “Song of Lahore,” a doc about Pakistani musicians, and “3 Bahadur,” an animated story about children who save their town from evil.
The trailer for “Sitara” does not feature any dialogue. We see the sisters playing with planes and imagining taking flight together, but not all of the scenes are joyous. Check out the spot to see why Pari’s sister is in tears.
“Sitara” is now in theaters, and will run through September 30.